By Atty. Rita Linda V. Jimeno

I have been trying to keep my peace about a person who cheated us of money. If this were a regular case of swindling or theft, where the perpetrator was practically a stranger, it would not have caused us as much anguish and disappointment. But the perpetrator is not your regular swindler or thief. She projected an attitude of concern for my husband and our family so well that when she was afflicted with a kind of cancer of the throat my husband got her the doctors and the medical attendance she needed to survive. We even played host to her in our own home following her surgery to make her checkups convenient. When she was well, my husband entrusted her with funds believing that she was the best person to handle the money he shelled out weekly for an out-of-town concern. He honestly believed in his heart that she would value the help he extended to save her life. Two years later, the brutal reality dawned on him that the one person he trusted cheated him with his money without compunction.

But I will not reproach her or confront her with a nasty word because my husband is a good man. He has always told us that when one does good to another he should not expect to be paid back or rewarded. What hurts though is the painful realization that morality and righteousness now seem dead. The corruption in government cascading from the highest official to the lowest employee is already sickening. The crimes that people commit against other people, to the extent sometimes of killing for a mere cell phone, is revolting and frightening. But to be cheated by one to whom much kindness has been given is something else. It is disturbing and painful because it sends the message that one must not be kind, and trusting, and helpful. It promotes cynicism and distrust. It goes against the very core values we were supposed to have learned from our parents and teachers.

But watching the news, day in and day out, it is not hard to see why our moral values have crumbled. We have gone so low in the sphere of moral decadence. Social scientists say that moral decadence is when society puts money before people. In the news last week, Filipinos were shocked yet again that corruption in the bidding process of World Bank-funded infrastructure projects involves legislators and public officials all the way to the highest seat of power in government. It may no longer have come as a surprise because bribery and corruption have been the flavors of the months, nay, years past. But Filipinos like to hope that the people they elected to power are not nearly as bad as they are pictured to be. Those implicated were quick to deny that there was collusion at all between government officials and certain contractors. But between the World Bank and the personalities implicated, among whom is the husband of the Chief Executive, who is believably speaking the truth? Has not our poor country been adjudged the most corrupt in Asia and the 8th most corrupt in the world? Have we not been rocked by corruption scandals of such magnitude that the figures involved are beyond comprehension by ordinary mortals?

Also in the thick of news has been the reported immoral and fraudulent scheme employed by businessman Celso de los Angeles under the Legacy Group of companies. Being operated like a Ponzi or pyramiding scheme, the deposits paid by depositors were used to pay out withdrawals by others. Depositors? money was not made to grow by investing it. Rather, Legacy?s rural banks increased its funds by enticing more depositors to put in more money by offering the marketing trick of ?double your money.? Logically, this was not sustainable or viable, however way you looked at it. The scheme was bound to collapse.

But the biggest scam by Legacy lies in the fact that the government was left with the obligation to pay Legacy?s depositors. Very neatly, the deposit accounts were all covered under the Philippine Deposit Insurance Commission since each savings or current account did not exceed the maximum insured amount of P250,000. The government is now left to pay P14 billion by way of insurance coverage to Legacy?s depositors. De los Angeles, an elected mayor of Santo Domingo, Albay said in an interview that he did no wrong but that he was simply a creative businessman. Did he mean creatively immoral? Why should we, the taxpayers, be made to pay for the fraud inflicted by such an ingenious, albeit immoral, scheme?

Chief Justice Reynato Puno has said that there is a need for a moral force to save this country from the decadence it is mired in. He said: ?It is time for the moral forces of this country to manifest themselves. They should cease to be invisible forces.?

We may have a chance to just be the moral forces the Chief Justice spoke of. We can redeem ourselves in 2010 by electing, for a change, people who will truly serve. But scanning the horizon for that elusive public servant from among those offering themselves as presidential bets, one can only cringe in despair. Alas, there is no one. The one man who presents hope, he who can be the Obama of the downtrodden Filipino people, is unfortunately in a complicated quandary. If he heeds the growing call for him to run for president, he will have to face off with the vultures of the political system. He can be devoured because of the absence of a political machinery that needs oiling; enormous oiling. There is no certainty that Filipinos who look forward to elections to earn bucks will be willing to forego with that chance in favor of hope. Then too, he might be forced to learn the art of compromise and thus soften his no-nonsense way of dealing with people and issues.

When, and should that happen, his image of integrity, courage and moral uprightness?for which he is so admired?may be compromised. Out there in the arena, people will expect him to court and woo them. And then, should he leave his Supreme Court post ahead of his retirement to run, he would have to leave behind the significant reforms he has started that are still in their infancy.

It is not an easy decision to make. But maybe, destiny will speak out. Maybe, the time for hope has come.

E-mail: ritalindaj@gmail.com Web: www.jimenolaw.com.ph